


Departure

by PlotQueen



Series: Unexpected [3]
Category: Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter - Laurell K. Hamilton
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2000-01-01
Updated: 2000-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-15 19:48:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/531055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlotQueen/pseuds/PlotQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Edward's obsession with Anita becomes the most important thing in his life, to the exclusion of even Donna and the children.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Departure

“I just don’t understand what hold she has over you, Ted. You’re engaged to me for God’s sake!”

Edward sighed. It was too late to cut and run; explanations were necessary. But nothing he could say would ever be explanation enough for the time and investment he’d put into this facade.

He almost laughed at the word. Facade. Some facade. It was never supposed to end up like this. She’d been available and he’d been needy. But somehow he’d been sucked in by a desire he’d never known he’d had. The desire for family.

And Donna’s family was great, once you got past Peter’s resentment. Becca was just an angel. Which was an even bigger reason for him to leave. He couldn’t stay and risk them anymore. It had already happened once.

He continued packing the bag of things he kept at her house as he spoke. “I’ve told you before, Donna. There’s no hold.” Not one she knows of, he thought. “This has nothing to do with her. We just aren’t right for each other.”

Donna stared at him blankly and he turned to her. Five hours ago this had been expected. Three hours ago annoying. Now it was frustrating. And he let it show.

It was cold, it was calculating. But maybe a little fear would be good for her. And he let his ‘Ted’ face slip away, the distant coldness replacing it.

Donna’s eyes widened and her mouth slipped open a bit. “Ted, honey… please,” she whispered. But there was more fear there than want.

“It’s over,” Edward said. Then he picked up the bag and left.

\---

He was throwing it away. Three years of his life. And he didn’t care. God knows, he could have married her easily before. Then he’d called Anita. It had been flattering, almost, how hard she’d fought against the marriage at first. And very painful when she finally agreed with him, that he should stay in their lives.

He could almost have wished that Anita had drawn down on him. He would have killed her, or she would have killed him. Either way his life would have been easier.

But this trip wouldn’t have changed at all. Her life was still in danger.

He settled back in his seat as the plane accelerated for take off, almost relishing the feeling of disorientation it first gave. He could almost pretend that he wasn’t walking into his own personal hell.

The last time he’d seen her, he’d run. There was no denying that. But at least she didn’t know why. If he had his way she’d never know.

He closed his eyes and there she was. He sighed as the plane leveled out and drifted slowly into a restless sleep.

\---

It was dark, almost pitch black. No moon at all, waning or waxing. He couldn’t see anything except the light that peeked around her curtains. She would be leaving soon. The secretary said she had a raising at ten, her only one.

So he watched, and waited, and soon her door opened. No light anymore, and a silhouette walked towards her jeep. And the second after he realized there were three behind her he was out of his car running.

“Anita, get down!” he yelled trying to get a decent shot at the shadow nearest her.

But the shadow couldn’t have been human. Not with the speed it hit her with. Anita went down and one of the following shadows jumped on her. He was only seconds away. Only seconds.

He could lose her in seconds.

He shot, hitting the third. It went down and then rose again. Two more shots and it stayed on the ground. Anita was fighting with the creature—no human, it was a human servant—that had jumped on her. And the first shadow, a vampire, was nowhere to be seen.

“Edward!” she screamed, and he turned. She was on her feet, gun out and aimed at him.

Not at him, behind him. He went down as she fired and he only had time to see the crazed human jump on her from behind, screaming with insanity and shredding her back.

He took aim but before he could fire the man collapsed to one side, dead. And he raced to her side.

“Anita, are you okay?” He knelt beside her almost afraid to touch her.

She looked up at him. “It’s not so bad, Edward. Really, it’s not.”

Her eyes rolled back and she passed out. And Edward lifted her so carefully. He would take care of her and damn her vampire and wolf for not knowing she was in danger.

\---

She didn’t wake up until he’d already cleaned and bandaged her back. He had laid her out on the bed on her side and sat in a chair, watching her. And waiting. Always waiting.

She woke and he could see the confusion in her eyes. A strange room instead of the hospital. But she didn’t need one, not at the rate she was healing. A day or less and it would be gone. And her clothes were gone. She was laying there in a pair of black satin panties and one of his dress shirts.

It looked good. And it made her self-conscious. He could see it in her eyes.

Quietly, ever so quietly, “You’re safe here.”

She gave him a small smile. “Safe to sleep?”

He nodded. “I’ll watch your back.”

She gave a slight grimace. “You already did that tonight, Edward. And you look like hell.”

He smiled at that. Trust her to be so honest.

“You should get some sleep,” she said as she settled back onto the bed. “No one knows I’m here, do they?” He shook his head. “It’s your room, so you should get at least half of the bed.”

He just stared at her. And then he turned the light off. In the darkness he laid his Beretta and shoulder holster on the floor next to the bed. His shirt, shoes and socks followed.

Jeans were not the most comfortable things to sleep in, but he would leave them. Anita would have a fit if he crawled in next to her naked or in his boxers. He undid the button and slid into the bed.

The silence prevailed for a long while, neither of them sleeping. 

And then, in the dark, “Edward?” Her voice was quiet and half asleep.

“Hm?” was all he said.

“Would you hold me?” This time her voice was tentative. “I usually sleep with the pard now…”

With a small smile to himself he rolled over. And tried to ignore his body as his hands slipped across hers.


End file.
